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Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Well, I don't have much to report on our title. Right now it's being forwarded to the Oklahoma Tax Commission and I'm hoping that we can pick it up Monday on our way to Dallas. However, I'll have to wait until Friday to see if this is possible, since after calling them it appears the Tax Commission takes off New Year's Eve. ::rolls eyes::

Anyway...on to the fun stuff! New Year's Eve!

Since Sean and I are trying to save some money we aren't going out, but we do have a fun evening planned. Currently we are watching the Twilight Zone Marathon on the Sci-Fi Channel. Seriously...the best show ever.

Tonight we are dining on lobster with garlic butter sauce and shrimp and we rented a few movies from Blockbuster today. We got Wall-E, House Bunny and Office Space (since Sean has never seen it).

I already made Andrea's chocolate chip cookies and they are as always, simply amazing!

Yesterday Sean and I headed to Stillwater so I could get my hair cut and highlighted. Usually when I get it done Sean says he can't see any difference, but yesterday he suprised me and said he really liked the change. It's a couple inches shorter and still blonde, but I did have her put a few more lowlights in. Maybe one of these days I'll really change it up.

We ended up watching the Holiday Bowl at a sports bar last night and can I just say I was extremely disappointed in my Oklahoma State Cowboys?

Once we got back to my parents' house we were taken on a tour of the naughty things Boomer had done that day.1. He tore up an edible Christmas decoration which consisted of two candy canes and three small chocolate bars. He ate the chocolate bars. Don't worry though, he didn't get sick.2. A puppy pawprint in the peanut butter fudge, which he left on his way to getting the edible Christmas decoration.3. A whole roll of toilet paper torn up in the bathroom.4. A chew toy destroyed.

I could tell yesterday when we left he was mad, so I should have guessed he'd take it out on us and destroy things. Oh and in case you are a new reader and don't know of our Min-Pin Boomer, then just let me say that I own one of the naughtiest Min-Pins known to man.

So...what plans do you have for New Year's Eve?

I'll be doing my resolutions tomorrow and asking for yours then, so you better be thinking of some good ones!

Monday, December 29, 2008

Nothing has frustrated me as much as this whole shipping my car to Italy business.

You remember my posts about trying to get a loan with a different bank so we could be authorized to ship it?

Well, of course as I mentioned, we got a loan for it. At the beginning of December. Our bank in Leesville was going to send the check to our bank in Tulsa, the bank in Tulsa would send the loan release form back to our bank and our title for our car would be taken care of.

Fast forward to today and we still have not gotten the title for our car. I call the Oklahoma Tax Commission bright and early to see why we haven't gotten it.

THEY HAVE NO RECORD OF IT

Which means either it got lost in the mail or the bank never sent it to them.

After playing phone tag with our loan officer in Lousiana, we finally figured out that our bank here in Tulsa hadn't sent back the loan release to our bank in Louisiana.

To make a long story short, our bank in Tulsa says they sent it the 18th, our bank in Lousiana says they haven't received yet and so I had another copy of it overnighted to our bank in Louisiana.

The biggest problem? It hasn't even been sent to the Oklahoma Tax Commission yet and we leave for Dallas on Monday.

I'm trying not to freak out, but I'm so tired of things not going as planned with our car. If we don't get that title by Monday then we won't be able to ship our car. Simple as that.

This time the situation was out of my hands. I didn't drop the ball on this one, but of course someone inevitably did.

Argh! I seriously just want to scream. You have no idea.

So once again I'm asking for prayers and good wishes that this gets done before we have to leave.

Saturday, December 27, 2008

If you've never lived in Oklahoma I'm not sure you can fully understand the wacky weather that constantly goes on in this state.

For example:

When Sean and I returned to Oklahoma a couple of weeks ago we were greeted by full-force winds, then a brief snowstorm and Arctic cold.

Yesterday it was 74 degrees. Last night it stormed something fierce.

Today? A brisk 35 degrees.

I don't know the pioneers did it.

This weather drives me batty!

Since Christmas we haven't been up to much. Christmas night we busted out my new Trivial Pursuit 80's edition. I thought something centered on the 80's would be easy, but alas I was wrong. I did come away the winner though.

Sean and I have been going to the gym religiously, which is a good thing considering there are still a lot of tempting holiday goodies around. Not to mention that Mazzio's calizone I picked up last night.

Sean is getting into the college football bowl season and I'm trying to get around to seeing the rest of my friends and family and other little important tasks, like getting my hair cut and colored before I leave.

There's also taking Boomer to the vet for his health certificate, getting our car detailed and a few other things before we can leave the country. As of tomorrow we only have a week left here until we leave for Dallas. I can't believe moving to Italy is getting so close! I'm still uber nervous about the plane ride though. I had a dream the other night that a huge blimp crashed. Yeah...not a good dream to have prior to this trip.

I think sometime next week Sean and I are going to one of the fancy restaurants in town for a romantic dinner. My aunt gave us that dinner as a present, which was a welcome idea instead of the usual QVC oddities that we receive instead.

I finally heard from Sean around 5:30 p.m. He did in fact lose his phone while out. He claims he sent me text messages through the computer earlier in the day, but I never received them. I admit I was still a bit angry when I talked to him. It'd been almost 24 hours since we had any contact, which unless he's in the field is honestly something that doesn't happen. I didn't originally share this on my blog, but I think part of the reason I was so upset yesterday is because I felt like there was a big double standard when it comes to keeping in contact. He expects me to check in from time to time when I'm out with friends, so I didn't think that him not doing that was really fair.

Anyway...thank you all for your comments and suggestions. I really do appreciate it.

Last night my mom wanted me to help her with a few new candy recipes she had. We made peanut butter fudge and cinnamon candy.....but with disatrous results. Come to find out our candy thermometer wasn't working correctly and so the candy didn't get hot enough. So...the fudge and the cinnamon are quite soft and pretty much unedible. It was fun making them though.

Tonight is Christmas Eve!

Which with my family means tonight is our "snack night" and watching National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation!

I'm so excited, I love all the tasty treats that we make and of course I love the movie choice.

Do you guys have any special Christmas Eve traditions you'd like to share?

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Ok...I have to get this off my chest, because it's really bugging me today.

When Sean and I are apart, it's so easy to get mad at him. Something about him being away from me just aggravates me and the littlest situations blow into something major.

For example: As you know Sean is up in Iowa visiting family. However, last night his cousin, wanted him to go out with her and her boyfriend and friends. Ok...so that wasn't really what I had in mind when I told him to go visit family, but whatever. I like being updated when he's out. A text message here and there and then for him to let me know he's home safely.

I haven't heard from him since 7:00 last night. Granted prior to that he said his phone had a low battery, but my reasoning is that surely his cousin's phone was in working order and he could have sent a simple text from her phone when he got home safely.

I awoke this morning around 4:30 and realized I'd never gotten a late night text, call or anything and pretty much couldn't go back to sleep for two more hours because I was worrying.

Needless to say this morning I'm fit to be tied and you can be sure I sent a sarcastic text message to him thanking him for his consideration in letting me know he's ok.

Ok...that might be a bit juvenile, but I'm angry! I also had another juvenile thought that maybe I should just ignore him today for the same amount of time I haven't heard from him and see how he likes it. Yeah..I know I know. Grow up Melissa. It's so tempting to do though!

So...am I honestly being high maintenance or do I have a reason to be miffed?

Lay it on me girls!

*Edited to add* It's now five and I still haven't heard from him. When I tried to call him his phone when straight to voicemail, so I'm not sure if it's just dead or if he lost it. The only reason I know he's ok is that I saw some pics from last night and one from this morning on his cousin's MySpace page. Keep the comments coming ladies, I appreciate all of your opinions so far!

Monday, December 22, 2008

As I mentioned, Sean and I are working out at our local YMCA to keep in shape while we are at home. On Saturday I did cardio, which usually involves me doing running intervals on the treadmill.

So....I'm running along on the treadmill and feeling great. I increase the speed and keep plowing along. There are two guys to the left of me power walking and as I increase the speed again I can see them looking over at me.

Silly me thinks they are impressed by my running since they are walking about the speed of my grandma so I'm feeling pretty good about myself.

Then my song ends on my IPOD and I realize why they are looking over at me.

FWAP, FWAP, FWAP, the belt on my treadmill is so loud! Everytime I increase the speed it increased the volume of it.

I was a bit embarassed and I have to admit I decreased the speed a bit so I wasn't quite so loud.

Last night I met up with two of my dear friends from my younger years. I had the opportunity to meet my best friend's baby for the first time and he was beyond adorable! She took a picture of us so hopefully when she emails it to me I can share it with you guys. She also got me the most awesome baby photography book and I've already gotten some great tips from it.

She and I rode together over to a local Mexican restaurant that we all happen to like and were supposed to meet our other friend there at 6:45. Thirty minutes later she finally shows up. Our friend is infamous for being late, but I have to admit I was a bit perturbed by how late she was. That just cut into the time that we all got to spend together.

Other than that incident though it was a really good time.

This is my best friend Jessica and I.

Here are a few pictures from the snow day last week.

Sean is still in Iowa. He left early Sunday morning and won't be back until Wednesday evening. I'm already ready for him to come home. I miss him, but I understand that it was important for him to go visit family. I would have gone with him, but I didn't because all of his family are very heavy smokers and the last time I stayed at their homes I ended up with burning lungs for about three weeks. So...I opted to stay home this time.

Sunday, December 21, 2008

Last night was my Grandma's annual "Christmas Eve" get together. For as long as I can remember we always got together at her house on Christmas Eve, but for the last two years, because of family who have moved to farther regions in Oklahoma, we are no longer having it on Christmas Eve.

We don't have a sit-down dinner at this holiday gathering, it's supposed to be strictly finger foods. I'm talking lil smokies, mexican pinwheels, home-made candy galore and of course lots of dips. Grandma did make some of her famous mashed potatoes though (thank heavens!) and her much-loved pecan and pumpkin pies.

There were about 35 people there last night, which is one of the biggest gatherings I think we've had. We still are lacking about 10 members of our family, mostly due to them living out of state, but since I missed Thanksgiving this year I was very excited to see my family that I hadn't seen since my wedding last year.

This is my little cousin Rebekah that I've only had the pleasure of seeing twice since she was born.

The little ones getting into some sort of mischief.

Sean and I doing our best "fakey" smiles.

Scary, no?

This is Taylor and it's the first time I had ever met her. She's such a cutie! She poses just like a baby model.

This is my mom and her sister and her daughters. I was adamant about having us all together for a picture.

I just love family times!

Oh...and a quick question. Can ya'll see my background layout? Or are you seeing just white? I can only see white, but with my parents' computer being screwy I didn't know if the background was actually showing up for other people. Let me know if you would!

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Finally I have time to sit down and blog! It seems like the last few days have just been run, run, run and I've not had time to sit down at the computer for more then a few minutes!

I do want to say I'm sorry to any new followers I have and my faithful readers, I mean to keep up with your posts and do the commenting that I usually do, but it's just not in the cards right now. I am trying to keep up with reading them though. Hopefully once we get settled in Italy I'll be able to get back to my usual posting and commenting.

The snow finally melted here today, not because it was particularly warm, but because there was enough of a light rain to melt it. Supposedly we are in for some really cold weather this weekend. Hopefully the cold will come without precipitation.

I had the opportunity to have lunch with my dear friend Kebi today and her cute little niece. Since I got to pick where we dined I picked Chili's and seriously stuffed myself with mushroom jack fajitas. I've been eating way too much since we got back to Bartlesville. I'm officially addicted to Pumpkin Spice lattes from Starbucks and I topped off dinner tonight with some fried pickles. Thank goodness I'm working out!

Speaking of working out...I mentioned the other day Sean and I did sprints and lunges during one of our workouts. Let's just say that I'm still sore from that. I cannot believe how much my muscles hurt. Obviously I haven't worked those particular muscles in that way in quite a while!

I believe Sean is going back to Iowa for a few days to visit his family up there. I kept telling him he needed to go and he kept saying no, but today he talked to one of his cousins and she pretty much guilt-tripped him into it. I won't be going, but I think it will be good for him to see them since we really don't know when he'll get to see them again.

I'm happy to report that I'm almost all done with my Christmas shopping. I believe I only have about 2 more small things to get and then of course get a couple of presents for Boomer. Boomer has been on cloud 9 since we've been staying with my parents. Since they live in the country there has been plenty of space for him to run around and plenty of people to give him all the attention he wants. I think my Dad has been giving him daily doggy massages. By the time we leave here he'll be even more spoiled than he already is!

I grabbed a copy of Marley and Me today, so I think I'm going to go curl up with that.

Monday, December 15, 2008

I apologize for the cluttered look of my blog at the current time. I'm trying to get a new look going and it's not cooperating very well. If anyone feels like giving me a hand with the three column tweaking please let me know. I've got the three columns set up, but the spacing needs work.

Anyway...as promised here's an update of what's been going on.

We luckily missed out on the ice that was supposed to go through here last night. That went mostly west and south of us. However, we weren't lucky enough to miss the Arctic Blast that came with it.

It went from 70 degrees on Sunday afternoon to about 26 degrees that night in a matter of a few hours.

Today the high was about 16 degrees and with the wind chill it was about -2. I'm so glad I got back to Oklahoma in time for this weather.

Now on to the raccoon debacle. Sean and I were on our way to my grandma's and as we exit the house to get in the truck, Boomer runs out, which scares a raccoon that was taking up residence in our cat's box. He runs for it, Boomer takes out after him and I'm running after Boomer screaming, scared he's going to get in a fight with this raccoon and end up hurt.

Sean and I went to the Y today for our workout. I haven't worked out in a week and my body was already slacking. It actually hurt my lungs running today. It's amazing how fast a body can get out of shape. Tomorrow we are running sprints and doing lunges. I can hardly wait. (Note the sarcasm)

We are also thinking of going to Tulsa tomorrow for some Christmas shopping, but we will have to see how the weather is. Rumor has it more snow is on the way!

Sunday, December 14, 2008

Sorry I've been MIA this weekend, but I had to catch up on some much-needed sleep and some much-needed visiting with friends and family.

I've actually got to spend time with quite a few people and I've only been here two days. I randomly ran into two of my best friends, which was awesome and totally unexpected. I hope I get to spend some more time with them while I'm here.

I'll get into our misadventures tomorrow. In the meantime I'll just let you know it involves a raccoon, an ice storm hitting us here in Northern Oklahoma and shopping galore.

Oh...and I'll also be doing a upgrade of my blog tomorrow. Becca over at Lovely Yellow Ribbons was kind enough to do a kick-butt banner for my blog and I cannot wait to show everyone!

Friday, December 12, 2008

Today is officially my last day in Louisiana. If Sean stays in the Army there is a possibility that one of these days we will be back, but if not I'll leave this place with fond memories.

I've found that I have a love of the cuisine found in Louisiana. Beignets, gumbo, crawfish etoufee, meat pies, po' boys of all types, spicy Bloody Marys. I love it all!

I've had the pleasure of reading other Louisiana bloggers and I wish I'd found them sooner so I could have met them in real life.

I've enjoyed the plantations, the history of New Orleans and the capital city of Baton Rouge. I've had many a good time at Pappys in Lake Charles and I've enjoyed the cute shops in Natchitoches.

I felt like I really got to experience this state and as a military spouse it's important to get to know your surroundings, wherever you may end up.

I got the opportunity to meet two great bloggers, Sara and Lindsay. I hope in the coming years I'll be able to keep in touch with them.

Here's to a new chapter in life!

We are leaving for Oklahoma after work today and driving straight through to Oklahoma. I'm estimating us to get home around 1:00 a.m. Yay! I'm so excited to get to see friends and family.

In other news, Sean called to tell me how the final inspection of our house went. The lady who did the inspection said it was one of the cleanest houses she's ever seen. I give kudos for that to Sean who is a cleaning machine! We only got charged $30 for a door that Boomer had scratched the lining of it up a bit. Not bad in my opinion. That's the least amount I've ever been charged when moving out.

Thursday, December 11, 2008

Well, all our stuff is officially packed and out of the house. Hopefully it all makes it to Italy in one piece. No I'm not holding my breath on that one.

After work last night we went to the house to clean.

Can I just say I HATE deep cleaning a house. Quite frankly it sucks and I wish I could just nod my head like Jeannie and it all be clean.

I think most of the deep cleaning is done, minus the carpet cleaning. That I will have to do tonight. I spent last night vaccuming and cleaning the baseboards. Yes...that's right me cleaning the baseboards. In every room.

After cleaning for a few hours last night we went back to our hotel room.

I was all pumped about staying in the Magnolia House on post. It's got great rooms, cute kitchnettes and the beds are comfy.

We are staying in the Cypress Inn, which I guess is an annex of some sort.

Word of Warning: If you ever stay at Fort Polk, avoid the Cypress Inn at all costs.

I'm really not trying to come off being Miss Complain about everything today. I promise. I'm just ready to go home to Oklahoma. Which we will be doing Friday after I get off work.

Tonight is the final night of cleaning. We have our final inspection Friday morning at ten. Since Sean has to go to work and final out that day Boomer will be coming to work with me. It's ok since Kelly and I will be the only ones in the office.

My boss took all of us to lunch today for my goodbye dinner, which I was grateful for. I had a delish steak and baked potato. Looks like those pesky five lbs I wanted to lose before I went home aren't going to disappear after all.

Oh well...'tis the season to eat lots of goodies!

We got a little bit of snow last night. It was mostly slush on our car, but Baton Rouge got several inches today. Where is this wacky weather coming from? I didn't expect for it to be snowing in Louisiana before we left!

It's a bit stormy here in Louisiana today. When I looked at the radar for back home (Oklahoma) I noticed that it's very cold there and snowing. Hmm...I'm not sure if I'm glad I'm missing out on that or sad that I'm not getting to experience it.

I'm still on the fence about that one.

One thing I do know is that Boomer is NOT going to like the colder weather when we go back to Oklahoma. He's already shivering here, which is precisely why I bought him his fleece hoodie to wear. He's so attached to that thing already. He actually gets mad when you take it off of him. How did I get such a demanding dog?

Speaking of Boomer, this business about him flying is getting a bit ridiculous. I made the reservation for him to be in-cabin last night and then realized that after I did it there's no way they will allow him to fly that way. He's under 20 lbs, which is the weight limit, but not under 9 inches, the height requirement. He's more like 13 inches. Which obviously doesn't allow him to fully stand up and move about his pet carrier like they require them to be able to do. So....we might have to call the grouchy lady back at in/out processing and have him changed again back to being checked luggage. I just want my dog to make it to Italy. Is that too much to ask?

Did I mention yesterday when I got my medical records that the last few pages in them were not mine? See, I went to one specialist one time when I lived in Oklahoma. This was before I got married and when the hospital here requested my medical records from back home, they obviously put my married name on the request. Well, my family doctor did it correctly, the other doctor did not and sent the medical records of a woman with the same name.

So here I am yesterday, reading through my records and I happen upon this, "patient is a 32- year- old white female, husband is considering a vasectomy."

Uh...yeah. That's obviously not me.

I got a good chuckle out of it though. I'm thinking of mailing the lady her records and telling her what happened. Now that should be interesting!

Monday, December 8, 2008

I just returned from the hospital on-post which is always an adventure. Nothing is every easy in the military. I've learned that time and time again since I've been an Army wife.

I went to the hospital to get my medical records, I had the appropriate form all filled out and ready to hand in. Then the guy working at the medical records desk informs me I have to have a copy of Sean's orders.

Crap.

A quick check of the car let me know I wasn't going to get lucky with a spare set of orders in there, so I had to drive home and snag a copy, pet Boomer and nab a mozzarella stick and I was out the door on my way to the hospital again.

This time I had everything I needed and had my medical records in hand in no time.

Did I mention I've already been reading them?

Yeah...they are interesting.

Did I also mention I get secret pleasure noticing I'm only three pounds from what I weighed in high school?

Yeah....I'm pretty pumped about that.

Especially when I noticed my hefty weight noted in my chart around the time I had mono. Let's just say I'm glad I'm not at that point anymore.

Oh...and also I have some fantastic news. Sean and I got a car loan! We didn't have to have any parents co-sign on it and they are also allowing us to take the car overseas with no problems. So, needless to say I was very happy about that blessing/miracle.

In moving news, they came today and picked up our unaccompanied baggage. Tomorrow is storage and Wednesday is all our household goods. Then it's off to the Magnolia House to live for the next couple of days until I'm done with work.

Speaking of work, my boss is taking us out for my "last day" dinner this Wednesday. I'm pretty excited, because it means I get to pick where we eat. Last time I got to pick where we ate, our administrative assistant almost poked out bosses' eye out with a chopstick. Fun times, I tell ya.

I got my stiches out yesterday. Something simple turned out to be a long process. I waited two and a half hours to get them out. No, I'm not joking. I sucked it up though and just got through the waiting process. I wasn't going to leave and then have to go back again. It didn't hurt a bit and now I'm sans stitches.

Sunday, December 7, 2008

I wanted to thank everyone who voted on what pictures to enter in the photography contest. After lots of thought I decided on #2, #4 and #8. I'll try to keep you updated if anything comes of that.

How is everyone's weekend going?

Sean and I have had a decent weekend. Friends came over Friday night for some poker, but since I don't play (I just don't get poker) I just hung out and played with the baby.

Saturday brought organization of our unaccompanied baggage and lost of college football. We watched Florida beat Alabama and Oklahoma beat Missouri. I can't say I was suprised with the outcome in either of those games. Sean wants the National Championship to be Oklahoma vs. Texas, but we are thinking it might be Oklahoma vs. Florida. All that will be decided tonight.

Other than that I'm off to get my stitches taken out today and then I'll probably finish some packing that needs to be done. Busy week ahead ladies, so if I'm not blogging or commenting as much, please don't forget about me!